The genus Habrobathynella Schminke, 1973, presently contains six species. Four new species of the genus Habrobathynella, viz. H. krishna n. sp., H. vaitarini n. sp., H. savitri n. sp. and H. vidua n. sp. are described and illustrated herein and their taxonomic position in the genus Habrobathynella discussed. Inhabiting certain rivers and borewells in the State of Andhra Pradesh, southeastern India, these new species introduce several morphologic features that are unique to either the genus or the family Parabathynellidae. The spine row on the uropodal sympod now displays five character states, and high diversity is also seen in the male thoracopod VIII. The salient morphologic characters and their various states in all the habrobathynellid species are reviewed and the original generic diagnosis revised. The palpless mandible with somewhat pyriform pars molaris, bearing 5–6 teeth, is recognised as a signal synapomorphy of Habrobathynella. Two more synapomorphies based on the male thoracopod VIII and caudal furca are added. Considering its special importance in taxonomy, the male thoracopod VIII of the four already known Indian species, viz. H. nagarjunai Ranga Reddy, 2002; H. schminkei Ranga Reddy, 2004; H. indicaRanga Reddy & Schminke, 2005 and H. plenituda Ranga Reddy & Schminke, 2009, has been reexamined based on topotypes and freshly illustrated with line drawings and digital images, and errors in the original accounts are corrected. Also, the ecology, biogeography and conservation of Habrobathynella species are briefly discussed.
To date, only 16 species of the very diverse family Parastenocarididae have been reported from the Indian subcontinent. This paper gives an illustrated description of three new species, viz. Parastenocaris edakkal n. sp., Proserpinicaris corgosinhoi n. sp., and Proserpinicaris karanovici n. sp., and discusses their position in the respective genera. While the first two species were found sympatrically in the Edakkal Cave in Kerala State of southwestern India, the third one was collected from a farm bore in the riparian zone of the River Krishna in Andhra Pradesh State of southeastern India. The Palaearctic genus Proserpinicaris Jakobi, 1972 sensu Karanovic, Cho & Lee, 2012, is being reported for the first time from India. Parastenocaris edakkal n. sp. belongs to the brevipes-group of the genus Parastenocaris Kessler, 1913 sensu Lang, 1948 et Reid, 1995. It is chiefly characterized by the male leg 4 basal chitinous complex consisting of one large sclerotized plate together with two small accessory lobes, and one strong, hook-like spine at the inner distal corner, and the endopod is membranous and ventricose in outline, with bulbous proximal part drawn out distally into biserrulate, pointed structure. Proserpinicaris corgosinhoi n. sp. can be easily separated from its congeners, inter alia, by the short caudal rami (c.1.2-1.4 times as long as wide), bearing 2 unequal lateral setae (I, III) inserted proximally; male leg 3 proximal segment is stumpy and has one prominent tubular pore on proximal anterior surface; and leg 4 endopod is short, membranous and somewhat conical, and the hyaline structure is relatively large, foliaceous and lies rather close to endopod. Proserpinicaris karanovici n. sp. has its own unique set of characters, of which the following are noteworthy: the caudal rami in both sexes are about 2.6 times as long as wide, gradually tapering, with only 2 lateral setae inserted in proximal half; and the male leg 4 endopod is nearly as long as first exopodal segment, membranous, with lateral margins fringed with tiny spinules, and the hyaline structure is short, leaf-like and occurring close to, and overlapping, the endopod.
To date, 20 species of Parastenocarididae are known from the Indian subcontinent. This paper gives the description of two more new species from the coastal deltaic belt of the Rivers Krishna and Godavari in the Andhra Pradesh state of the southeastern Indian peninsula. They are: Parastenocaris enckelli n. sp. from a hyporheic habitat, and Dussartstenocaris bisetosa n. sp. from a farm bore. Parastenocaris enckelli belongs to the brevipes-group of the genus Parastenocaris Kessler, 1913 sensu Lang 1948 and Reid 1995, and is characterized by the following features: the male leg 4 basal complex consists of a large chitinized plate, with two digitiform hyaline structures at its proximal outer corner of the anterior surface, and one smooth, moderately strong, claw-like spine at the inner distal corner of basis; the endopod of the same leg is membranous, with bulbous proximal part having a diagonal row of three spinules, and its distal part is drawn out into smooth pointed structure; and the male leg 3 ancestral proximal segment is subproximally dilated, elongate, with ladle-shaped apophysis, which is slightly longer than the spiniform thumb. Parastenocaris enckelli is closely related to the Indian P. edakkal Totakura, Ranga Reddy & Shaik, 2014, and the Sri Lankan P. brincki Enckell, 1970. To accommodate Dussartstenocaris bisetosa in the monotypic Western Australian genus Dussartstenocaris Karanovic & Cooper, 2011, three of the original generic criteria are amended. D. bisetosa is chiefly characterized by the complex exopodal thumb on the male leg 3, the caudal ramus having only two lateral setae located slightly anterior to its midlength together with the distally inserted dorsal seta, and also the presence of a short spiniform process at the inner distal corner of leg 5 in both sexes. Dussartstenocaris bisetosa differs from D. idioxenos Karanovic & Cooper, 2011, by its shorter caudal rami, distinctly ornamented anal somite, two long modified spinules on the male leg 4 coxa, and rather small fifth legs with only two setae each in both sexes and smooth inner margins. This is the first report of the genus Dussartstenocaris from the Indian subcontinent. Brief biogeographic notes are also given for the two new species.
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